View source for Physics:IGNITOR

{{Short description|Italian nuclear fusion research project}}
{{Infobox fusion devices
|name                 = IGNITOR
|fullname             = Ignitor
|image                =
|imagetitle           = 
|type                 = [[Physics:Tokamak|Tokamak]]
|city                 = Troitsk
|state                = 
|country              = {{wipe|Russia}}
|affiliation          = ENEA
|major_radius         = {{val|1.32|u=m}}
|minor_radius         = {{val|0.47|u=m}} × {{val|0.86|u=m}}
|volume               = {{val|10|u=m3}}
|field                = {{val|13|ul=T}}
|heating              = {{val|12.8|u=MW}}
|power                = {{val|100|u=MW}}
|time                 = {{val|4|u=s}}
|current              = {{val|11|u=MA}}
|temperature          = {{val|122|e=6|u=K}}
|construction_date    = 
|operation_start_year = 
|operation_end_year   = 
|ongoing              = 
|prev                 = 
|next                 = 
|related              = 
|website              = 
|other_links          = 
}}
'''Ignitor''' is the [[Social:Italian language|Italian]] name for a planned [[Physics:Tokamak|tokamak]] device, developed by ENEA. {{As of|2022}}, the device has not been constructed.

Started in 1977 by Prof. [[Biography:Bruno Coppi|Bruno Coppi]] at MIT, Ignitor based on the 1970s Alcator machine at MIT which pioneered the high magnetic field approach to plasma [[Physics:Magnetic confinement fusion|magnetic confinement]], continued with the [[Physics:Alcator C-Mod|Alcator C/C-Mod]] at MIT and the [[Physics:Frascati Tokamak Upgrade|FT/FTU]] series of experiments.<ref name=Italy2009/> It was initially proposed to be built "in the area of the former Caorso nuclear power station". The currently intended location is at Troitsk near Moscow.<ref name="BombardaCandidoCoppi2017"/>

Ignitor is designed to produce approximately 100 MW of fusion power despite its relatively small size. For comparison, the intended weight is 500 metric tons, while the [[Organization:ITER|ITER]] international reactor, expected to be the first tokamak to reach scientific breakeven, is some 19,000 tons.

== 2010 ==
At a meeting with the scientific attachés of the European embassies in [[Place:Moscow|Moscow]] in early February 2010, [[Biography:Mikhail Kovalchuk|Mikhail Kovalchuk]], Director of the [[Organization:Kurchatov Institute|Kurchatov Institute]], announced that an initiative aimed at developing a fast paced joint research programme in [[Physics:Nuclear fusion|nuclear fusion]] research was strongly supported by the Governments of Russia and Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iter.org/newsline/131/169|title=Italy and Russia revive Ignitor|date=2010-05-14|author=Robert Arnoux|work=ITER newsline|volume=131|page=169}}</ref>

The original proposal had been initiated earlier by [[Biography:Evgeny Velikhov|Evgeny Velikhov]] (President of the [[Organization:Kurchatov Institute|Kurchatov Institute]]) and [[Biography:Bruno Coppi|Bruno Coppi]] (Head of the High Energy Plasmas Undertaking, MIT) during the early developments of the [[Physics:Alcator C-Mod|Alcator C-Mod]] programme at MIT, where well known scientists of the Kurchatov Institute made key contributions to experiments that identified the unique confinement and purity properties of the high density plasmas produced by the high field Alcator machine. In effects this investigated, for the first time, physical processes leading to attain self-sustained fusion burning plasmas.

The collaboration with the Kurchatov Institute is directed at the construction of the Ignitor machine, the first experiment proposed to achieve ignition conditions by nuclear fusion reactions on the basis of existing knowledge of plasma physics and available technologies. Ignitor is part of the line of research on high magnetic field, experiments producing high density plasmas that began with the Alcator and the Frascati Torus programmes at MIT and in Italy, respectively. Coppi claimed that IGNITOR would be a bigger step towards fusion power than the international [[Organization:ITER|ITER]] project, but several fusion scientists contested this in 2010.<ref>{{Cite journal  | doi = 10.1038/news.2010.214 | title = Fusion reactor aims to rival ITER | journal = Nature | date = 2010 | last1 = Feresin | first1 = Emiliano }}</ref>

According to existing plans, Ignitor will be installed at the Triniti site at Troitsk near Moscow, that has facilities which can be upgraded to house and operate the machine. This site will become open and made to be easily accessible to scientists of all nations. The management of the relevant research programme will involve Italy and Russia only to facilitate the success of the enterprise. The proponents have suggested that the {{wipe|United States}} become an Associate Member of this effort with a similar arrangement to that made with [[Organization:CERN|CERN]] for its participation in the [[Physics:Large Hadron Collider|LHC]] (Large Hadron Collider) Programme.

The goal to produce meaningful [[Physics:Fusion power|fusion reactors]] in a reasonable time leads to pursuing the achievement of ignition conditions in the near term in order to understand the plasma physical regimes needed for a net power producing reactor. In addition, an objective other than ignition that can be envisioned for the relatively near term is that of high flux [[Physics:Neutron source|neutron source]]s for material testing involving compact, high density fusion machines. This has been one of the incentives that have led the Ignitor Project to adopt [[Chemistry:Magnesium diboride|magnesium diboride]] (MgB<sub>2</sub>) superconducting cables in the machine design, a first in fusion research. Accordingly, the largest coils (about 5m diameter) of the machine will be made entirely of [[Chemistry:Magnesium|MgB<sub>2</sub>]] cables.

In the context of the Italy-Russia summit meeting held in Milan on 26 April 2010<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.legnostorto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28544&Itemid=46 |title=Il Legno storto, quotidiano online - Politica, Attualità, Cultura - Accordo Italia Russia per la realizzazione del progetto Ignitor del Prof. Bruno Coppi |access-date=2010-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713195559/http://www.legnostorto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28544&Itemid=46 |archive-date=2011-07-13 }}</ref> the agreement to proceed with the proposed joint Ignitor programme has been signed. The participants, from the Russian side, have included the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, the Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, and the Vice Minister of Education and Research Sergey Mazurenko. Participants from the Italian side have included Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister Valentino Valentini (who had a key role in forging the agreement on the Ignitor programme), and the Minister of Education and Research Mariastella Gelmini who, together with Sergey Mazurenko, signed the agreement in the presence of the two Prime Ministers.<ref name=Italy2009>[http://banchedati.camera.it/sindacatoispettivo_16/showXhtml.Asp?idAtto=1684&stile=6&highLight=1 Dati Camera dei Deputati. Jan 2009 Italian ministerial reply ]</ref><ref>[http://www.corriere.it/esteri/10_aprile_26/putin-berlusconi-incontro-nucleare_d26240c2-5113-11df-884e-00144f02aabe.shtml ''Nuclear power in Italy, Berlusconi:"Start work within three years"'']</ref>

== After 2010 ==
In 2013, new developments and issues for the Ignitor experiment were published.<ref name="CoppiAiroldiAlbanese2013">{{cite journal |last1=Coppi |first1=B. |display-authors=0 |title=New developments, plasma physics regimes and issues for the Ignitor experiment |journal=Nuclear Fusion |date=26 September 2013 |volume=53 |issue=10 |page=104013 |issn=0029-5515 |eissn=1741-4326 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/53/10/104013|bibcode=2013NucFu..53j4013C |s2cid=120764120 }}</ref> The Ignitor project Conceptual Design Report was prepared by a joint Russian-Italian working group in 2015.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Perevezentsev |first1=A. N. |last2=Rozenkevich |first2=M. B. |last3=Subbotin |first3=M. L. |date=2019-11-15 |title=Concept of the Fuel Cycle of the IGNITOR Tokamak |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1134/S1063778819070093 |journal=Physics of Atomic Nuclei |volume=82 |issue=7 |pages=1055–1059 |doi=10.1134/S1063778819070093|s2cid=213278019 }}</ref> A 2015 study reports the advances made in different areas of the physics and technology that are relevant to the Ignitor project.<ref name="CoppiAiroldiAlbanese2015">{{cite journal |last1=Coppi |first1=B. |display-authors=0 |title=Perspectives for the high field approach in fusion research and advances within the Ignitor Program |journal=Nuclear Fusion |date=16 April 2015 |volume=55 |issue=5 |page=053011 |issn=0029-5515 |eissn=1741-4326 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/55/5/053011|bibcode=2015NucFu..55e3011C |s2cid=119512970 }}</ref>
A safety analysis study for Ignitor at the TRINITI site was published in 2017.<ref name="BombardaCandidoCoppi2017">{{cite journal | last1 = Bombarda | first1 = F. | last2 = Candido | first2 = L. | last3 = Coppi | first3 = B. | last4 = Gostev | first4 = A. | last5 = Khripunov | first5 = V. | last6 = Subbotin | first6 = M. | last7 = Testoni | first7 = R. | last8 = Zucchetti | first8 = M. | title = Ignitor siting at the TRINITI site in Russian Federation | journal = Fusion Engineering and Design | date = November 2017 | volume = 123 | pages = 192–195 | issn = 0920-3796 | doi = 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2017.02.011 }}</ref>
A risks analysis of the project realization phase was published in 2017.<ref name="SubbotinBianchiBombarda2017">{{cite journal | last1 = Subbotin | first1 = Mikhail | last2 = Bianchi | first2 = Aldo | last3 = Bombarda | first3 = Francesca | last4 = Kravchuk | first4 = Vladimir | last5 = Nappi | first5 = Eugenio | last6 = Spigo | first6 = Giancarlo | title = Preliminary risks analysis of the IGNITOR Project realization phase | journal = Fusion Engineering and Design | date = November 2017 | volume = 124 | pages = 1246–1250 | issn = 0920-3796 | doi = 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2017.02.099 }}</ref>
An informal exchange meeting took place in 2017.<ref>[https://indico.desy.de/indico/event/18319/ The Russian-Italian Ignitor Tokamak Project: Design and status of implementation (2017)]</ref>
The fuel cycle concept was presented in 2020.<ref name="PerevezentsevRozenkevichSubbotin2019">{{cite journal | last1 = Perevezentsev | first1 = A. N. | last2 = Rozenkevich | first2 = M. B. | last3 = Subbotin | first3 = M. L. | title = Concept of the Fuel Cycle of the IGNITOR Tokamak | journal = Physics of Atomic Nuclei | date = December 2019 | volume = 82 | issue = 7 | pages = 1055–1059 | issn = 1063-7788 | eissn = 1562-692X | doi = 10.1134/S1063778819070093 | s2cid = 213278019 }}</ref><ref name="RozenkevichPerevezentsevSubbotin2020">{{cite journal | last1 = Rozenkevich | first1 = M. | last2 = Perevezentsev | first2 = A. | last3 = Subbotin | first3 = M. | last4 = Candido | first4 = L. | last5 = Testoni | first5 = R. | last6 = Zucchetti | first6 = M. | title = Optimisation of fuel cycle for IGNITOR tokamak at TRINITI in Russia: A critical review | journal = International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | date = November 2020 | volume = 45 | issue = 56 | pages = 32311–32319 | issn = 0360-3199 | doi = 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.08.268 | s2cid = 224954668 }}</ref>
In 2022 the field-coil design was revised.<ref name="MitrishkinKorenevKonkov2022">{{cite journal | last1 = Mitrishkin | first1 = Y.V. | last2 = Korenev | first2 = P.S. | last3 = Konkov | first3 = A.E. | last4 = Kartsev | first4 = N.M. | last5 = Smirnov | first5 = I.S. | title = New horizontal and vertical field coils with optimised location for robust decentralized plasma position control in the IGNITOR tokamak | journal = Fusion Engineering and Design | date = January 2022 | volume = 174 | page = 112993 | issn = 0920-3796 | doi = 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2021.112993 | s2cid = 245591369 }}</ref>

==Progress on construction==
Some full-size prototype components have been built in Italy.<ref name=IFS>[http://www2.lns.mit.edu/ignitorproject/Ignitor@MIT/Fact_Sheet.html Fact sheet (by MIT, pre-2014)]</ref>{{Specify |reason=What exactly is the current status? Which components have been built?|date=January 2019}}
As of 2018, construction of Ignitor in Russia has not commenced.<ref name="MikhailGostev2019">{{cite journal|last1=Mikhail|first1=Subbotin Leonidovich|last2=Gostev|first2=Alexander|last3=Anashkin|first3=Igor|last4=Belov|first4=Alexander|last5=Levin|first5=Igor|title=Status and tasks of TRINITI site infrastructure modernization for the Ignitor project|journal=Fusion Engineering and Design|volume=146|year=2019|pages=866–869|issn=0920-3796|doi=10.1016/j.fusengdes.2019.01.101|s2cid=126603670 }}</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www2.lns.mit.edu/ignitorproject/Ignitor@MIT/Home.html Ignitor website] 
**[http://www2.lns.mit.edu/ignitorproject/Ignitor@MIT/Fact_Sheet.html Fact sheet] says "Construction on the reactor is projected to be complete in 2014"
*{{in lang|en}} [http://www.frascati.enea.it/ignitor IGNITOR technical specs on ENEA Laboratories in Frascati] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224053344/http://www.frascati.enea.it/ignitor/ |date=2011-02-24 }}
*{{in lang|it}} [http://www.bologna.enea.it/matform/Fus/Detragiache.pdf Paolo Detragiache, Technical presentation of the project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203032323/http://www.bologna.enea.it/matform/Fus/Detragiache.pdf |date=2008-12-03 }}
*{{in lang|en}} [https://indico.desy.de/indico/event/18319/material/slides/8.pdf Recent russian contribution]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Fusion experiments}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ignitor}}
[[Category:Nuclear research institutes]]
[[Category:Proposed fusion reactors]]
[[Category:Tokamaks]]

{{Sourceattribution|IGNITOR}}